


Chain of Command

by thescorpiondoctor



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: A young seeker growing up on the Nemesis, Angst and Fluff, Decepticons are bad parental figures, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Everyone is suffering, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Knockout and Breakdown, Knockout can't fix everything, Knockout does not know how to handle a kid crying, Knockout has to patch up the aftermath of everyone's anger, Life aboard the Nemesis, Megatron is EVIL, Original Character(s), People work in layers, Soundwave knows everyone's secrets, Stormshift is at the bottom of the decepticon pecking order, Trauma, Undertones of abuse, behind the scenes character study, breakdown - Freeform, cute cuddling in between the suffering, decepticons are brutal, decepticons are messed up, everyone is a victim of Megatron's tyrrany, major angst, pain and suffering, picking up pieces
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-01 03:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21354163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thescorpiondoctor/pseuds/thescorpiondoctor
Summary: Stormshift shows up in the medbay for 'mysterious' symmetrical scratches on her wings. Knockout patches up her physical injuries, although he is not quite sure how to patch up her emotions.The struggles of a young seeker living aboard the Nemesis, where everyone is above her and people come in layers. The decepticon pecking order is built on energon and cleansing fluid, where those at the bottom are cast aside and treated as little more than objects built to appease their superiors. It's a brutal cycle where no one wins except the ones at the top, and with Megatron in charge, it is a struggle for everyone among the decepticon ranks to stay alive. Strength isn't about one's own weakness, it is about preying on the weaknesses of others.Growing up on the Nemesis isn't easy, and with everyone out to get you, it's hard to stay alive.
Relationships: Breakdown/Knock Out
Kudos: 11





	1. Soldiers

“Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to believe that story? That you just ‘fell on some bot’s claws’?! I mean, come on, it’s obvious that you didn’t. You may be a klutz at times, but I know you’re more coordinated than that. Some bot scratched you. Repeatedly. Symmetrically, mind you. Honestly, I don’t blame them. With the way you skulk about the corridors, no one’s going to take you seriously. You do know that if you just stand up straight and actually meet people’s optics, they won’t be as inclined to push you around like this. You gotta put a little swing in your hips and show em’ who’s boss.” Knockout stated with a dismissive wave of his servo, harshly dabbing the medical swab across the symmetrical scratches that ran along the tiny mint green and black seeker’s wings. 

Stormshift winced, her wings instinctively flicking away from the cherry red medic’s servos as he attempted to clean out her injuries. She sat on the edge of the medical berth with Knockout standing behind her, hastily attempting to clean out the wounds on her wings. She lowered her optics, falling silent as she curled inwards and wrapped her arms around her frame. “I-I’m s-sorry-...” she squeaked out, her optics filling with cleansing fluid as she turned her head away. 

“Sorry for what? What did you do this time? And hold still, will you, or so help me I will bolt you down to this medical table and fill you up with so many sedatives that you won’t be able to move until NEXT WEEK!” Knockout snapped, grabbing the tip of one of her wings between his digits, careful not to get any of her energon on his paint as he began scrubbing at the scratches to try and clean them out. 

Stormshift winced again, raising her wings so that it was easier for Knockout to clean the wounds and doing her best to hold still as she possibly could despite the pain. “I’m s-sorry for wasting your time… I sh-shouldn’t have gotten hurt.” she replied, staring guiltily at the ground. 

Knockout paused a moment, his expression softening ever so slightly. “Oh. Is that all?” He let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, it’s not like you could help it. You’re not exactly equipped to handle anything larger than a turbofox in a fight. Scratch that. You’d probably lose to a glitch mouse with how skittish you are. Honestly Stormshift, sometimes I miss that fight you had in you when you were younger. If you still had that, then maybe you’d actually have a chance.”

Stormshift’s frame tensed slightly at Knockout’s words. “Wh-what do you mean? I’ve always been like this ... or at least, for as long as I can remember.”  
Knockout let out a dismissive snort. “Of course you wouldn’t remember it. You underwent several sessions of intense mnemosurgery. I’m honestly surprised that your circuits aren’t more scrambled from that, or more that you still have circuits in your processor left to scramble. Sometimes I wonder if the fact that you’ve even survived this long is anything short of a medical miracle. That, or Primus just doesn’t want you to die.” 

“What does Primus have to do with this?” Stormshift asked, tilting her head in confusion and grimacing in pain. 

Knockout scoffed slightly, shrugging as he dropped the wing he had been working on and lifted the tip of her other wing. “Well… to put it bluntly, either you’re one tough energon cookie or the mech upstairs just wants to keep you around to see you suffer. I hope it’s the first one. I mean, I doubt it could be the second. You’re hardly even one of Primus’ creations, with the way you came about and all that. Could be that Primus keeps trying to strike you down and whatever ‘voodoo magic’ your creator put in your CNA makes you immune to his attempts. I don’t know. I’m not one to speak for the guy. Believing in Primus after all that’s happened in this war is either just wishful thinking or pure stupidity. I honestly think that Primus is dead, or that we’re all dead to him, or else he would’ve done something long time ago to wipe us all out.” He chattered, cleaning out the wounds on her other wing. 

“Sometimes I just wish I could die… What’s the point of carrying on anyways when ‘God Himself’ doesn’t even want me to exist?” Stormshift stated, her voice surprisingly steadier than it had been moments before. 

Knockout paused a moment, shaking his helm. “These scratches are extremely deep. Could’ve even cut through to the internal wiring. I’m going to have to take your wing plating off and poke around on the inside. Whatever they did to you has rendered this set of plating useless. I’m going to have to have Breakdown cut you a new set… and just after the last time. Honestly, Stormshift, I expected you to take better care of yourself than this. You could have at least, I don’t know, not gone stumbling into the claws of angry mecha?” The medic scolded, attempting to change the subject. 

“I-... I s-said I was s-sorry-!” The mint green and black seeker whimpered, her lower jaw quivering as cleansing fluid tears silently ran down her faceplate. 

Knockout let out a long sigh. “Are you crying again, Stormshift? In my medbay? I thought we talked about this-. Save the waterworks for when nobody can see you. It’s not safe to cry on the Nemesis. True decepticons don’t have feelings. They just suck it up and deal with it or beat on something smaller and weaker than them.” 

“S-sorry, s-sir…” the delicate little seeker whimpered. She really was trying hard to hide her emotions, but they just kept coming out. 

Knockout rolled his optics, shifting his weight on his hips and walking around to the front of her. He honestly had no idea how to deal with her constant displays of emotional turmoil. He knew that she was young and that he should maybe be a little bit easier on her. She was hardly a sparkling compared to him, and she had been through so many horrors already, but he could hardly understand what her problem was and neither did he want to. He was content thinking about just himself and letting all the others take the back seat until Megatron needed to repair them. 

“Look, stop apologising or you’re gonna make me look bad.” Knockout said, lifting her chin in his sharpened digits and looking into her optics. “Megatron wants strong warriors, not trembling little kids that have barely learned how to fly. You are going to have to grow up a lot faster than what is normal if you want to survive here. Now, chin up, shoulders back, chest out. Straighten out your spinal struts. You’re a soldier, Stormshift. And you’re a decepticon. Soldiers don’t cry. Soldiers stand strong and fight. You’re not ready yet, but one day you are going to carry a gun and you are going to put a blast through an autobot’s head, or their spark. Or you’ll tear it out with your bare servos. You have it easy now, as Megatron doesn’t yet have his eye on you, but one of these days you are going to have to fight. Now, I don’t know why I’m wasting all this time telling you all this, but it’s about time I got that busted up plating off of your wing. You good?” he softened his expression, a bit of guilt and concern leaking into his field. No. He had to stay strong. He had to conceal his weakness. Knockout stepped back, jerking his EM field back around himself. He then straightened out his posture, awkwardly rotating his shoulder and stretching his arm behind his helm, the wheels on his back lowering ever so slightly. 

Stormshift did as she was told, straightening out her back and sitting more like the soldier he had told her to be, cleansing fluid tears still silently running down her face.


	2. Victims

“Oh, hush. We wouldn’t want Megatron walking in on you having those pathetic tears running down your face. Here-...” Knockout sighed, grabbing a cleaning cloth off of a nearby shelf and gingerly wiping the cleansing fluid off of Stormshift’s faceplate. “There. Better? Now let’s get to those little wings of yours.” he added, giving her a half-hearted smile. 

Stormshift gazed up into Knockout’s optics, shakily nodding and letting out a small whimper of, “Mhmm-”, desperately trying to stifle her emotions. 

“Oh, don’t give me that look. You look pathetic.” Knockout huffed, moving around behind the slim little seeker and carefully removing the plating that covered the backs of her wings. 

“S-sorry-...” she replied, her voice trembling ever so slightly. 

Knockout raised a servo and scoldingly waved his index digit at the little femme. “Ah ah ah. What did I say about apologizing?” 

“N-not to..th-that I sh-should st-stop…” She started. “B-but I really am sorry…” She added. 

“Well then, don’t be. You aren’t going to make it by being ‘sorry’ about everything. Sorry doesn’t cut it. Sorry won’t save your aft when Megatron comes calling. Sorry is weak. You’re exposing a weakness, Stormshift. Do you want everyone to think of you as weak?” the medic replied. 

“But I am-!” Stormshift protested.

Knockout shook his helm. “Well, try to look like you aren’t, or at least for primus’ sake make yourself look less weak. Fake it ‘till you make it. If you act strong and hide all signs of weakness, nobody is going to mess with you. You gotta keep all that weakness on the inside where no one can see it.” 

Stormshift lowered her wings, a bit of energon dripping onto the floor from the exposed and severed fuel lines. 

“Gah-! Stop it! You’re still bleeding all over the place- it’s worse than I thought-! Stop moving or else you’ll spatter all your filthy energon on my finish!” Knockout scolded, grumbling slightly as he set the metal he had removed from her wings off to the side. “I’m going to have to install entirely new neural cables and fuel lines…. You gotta stop letting them do this to you, Stormshift. We don’t have an unlimited supply of parts small enough to fix you, and I can’t have you keep wasting every new part I put in or on you. You haven’t even started flying yet... I’d expect you to not get your first wing injuries until at least your first crash. But what has it been? Five times in the past vorn? It’s like the minute you leave the medbay, you come back with some new scrape or injury. You can’t keep doing this to yourself. One of these days, you’re going to have a fatal injury and I won’t be around to patch you up because I’ll be busy attending to Lord Megatron or out for a drive or something, and I’ll come back to find you bleeding and dead on the floor. And who do you think will be blamed for that, hmm?” Knockout paused, using a pair of forceps to pinch off the severed fuel lines as he waited for her answer. 

Stormshift was silent for a moment, considering his words. “Y-you?” she asked, her voice trembling with uncertainty. 

“ME. Exactly.” Knockout snapped. “I’ll be blamed for it, and there’s no telling what will happen to me after that, because I was put in charge of keeping you alive. I’m supposed to be responsible for your well being. Now, how do you think it reflects on me when you go around orn after orn finding creative new ways of getting yourself hurt? What do you think will happen if Megatron sees you like that? I’ll be toast!” 

“But it-...it isn’t your fault!” Stormshift protested. 

“Well, exactly. I know that. And you know that. But it doesn’t matter whose fault it is. Whenever there’s a mess around here, it’s always the person who’s closest to the mess who gets the blame. And it just happens that because I was given charge of you….. Whenever you make a mess, I get blamed. That’s just the way things work around here.” Knockout replied, moving to pinch off the fuel lines in her other wing. 

“It isn’t m-my fault either…” Stormshift mumbled under her breath, lowering her helm in shame. 

“Doesn’t matter. If Soundwave or Megatron sees you get hurt, or sees you wandering the Nemesis with so much as a nick in your paint, well ...” Knockout stated, his voice trailing off into an ominous tone. 

“Kn-knockout-... I d-don’t understand. Why wouldn’t they care about how I got hurt and I dunno, m-maybe punish the bot who hurt me instead of you or me getting in trouble? I d-don’t want you to be punished for my mistakes…. I know I’m a terrible decepticon, but I w-want to be good…. I want to be strong and brave and fierce like you and Breakdown and Starscream and some of the others. I hope my spark is in the right place….. I just….. I want to make you proud and happy and do well so that you’re n-not punished for my failure any more. I don’t want to be afraid of things. I want to be brave and strong and fearless-!” the little seeker said, raising an arm in the air and shaking a fist at the end of her speech. 

Knockout chuckled darkly, although his expression was devoid of any sine of mirth. “Aww, Stormshift, I’m touched. But wanting to be a good decepticon isn’t going to get you there. Do you honestly think that those above you aren’t afraid or weak or broken?” He laughed again, moving around in front of her and crouching so that his optics were level with hers as he raised a servo and playfully ruffled the twin metal crests that sat atop her helm. 

“No, Stormshift.” Knockout continued, shaking his helm almost in pity. “Those that you see as higher up are really no stronger than you, even though they look bigger and talk a big game. They’re just better at hiding their weakness. All except Megatron, and he rules because he is the strongest. But don’t worry. You’ll get there one day, up there with all the rest of them. You’re young. I think in time you will learn to hide your weakness. That or you’ll die trying.” He patted her helm, smiling somewhat smugly as he studied her face. “It’s a cruel world aboard the Nemesis. You either break people or you get broken. I think eventually you’ll have your snap. Just don’t trample me when you rise above the ranks, eh?” he joked. He knew all too well that she probably would not make it that far, but he was not going to tell her that because he did not want to ruin her hope of trying. 

Stormshift stared back into his optics, pressing her helm against his servo. Slowly, cautiously, she extended her EM field towards him. His words hurt deeply, but she could not help but try to find the good in them. He was harsh, but deep down she hoped that maybe he was trying to help her in his own cruel way. She wanted to believe that he was worried about her. She wanted to believe that he cared, even though it probably was not true. He was the closest thing to a sire or a carrier that she had, and all she wanted to do was make him proud and let him know that she loved him. She leaned into his touch, closing her optics as he rested his servo on her helm, a tiny purr escaping her engine as she found herself accidentally nuzzling his hand. 

Knockout removed his servo from her helm, chuckling softly to himself as he wiped his palm against a cleaning rag that he produced from his subspace. “Now what are you getting all purry about, hmm?” he teased, wrapping the cloth around his servo and lifting her chin with the cloth covering his digits. 

Stormshift’s faceplate flushed and she nervously averted her gaze, her shoulders rolling inwards as her wings flattened against the back of the medical exam table she was sitting on. “N-nothing…” she muttered, embarrassed that he had heard her purr. She pulled her EM field back in around herself, wanting to just curl up in a ball and hide. 

“Alright. Well, you sit still and stay there while I wash up. I’ll have Breakdown cut you a new set of wing plating when he gets back. Those cables in your wings need replacing, but I’m saving that for when you actually need the sensors to fly. No sense wasting perfectly good fuel lines and nerve cables only for you to get them broken again.” 

Stormshift nodded, curling up and pulling her knees to her chest. 

“Oh, stop that. What did I tell you about posture?!” Knockout called over his shoulder as he headed towards the medbay’s wash racks. 

Stormshift instantly uncurled her frame, sitting up straight and raising her wings, holding her head high and sitting with her chin up for the several hours that it took for Breakdown to show up from his mission. Meanwhile, Knockout milled about the medbay, sorting tools and scrolling through patient records on his data pad, all but forgetting the tiny seeker sitting perfectly still and silent on the medical table, patiently waiting for her next orders.


	3. Cowards

“You’re late.” Knockout tersely stated. He was reclined in a chair with his back to the door near the back of the medbay, lazily filing his digits when Breakdown entered the room. 

Breakdown groaned slightly, dragging his foot and clutching his upper left forearm as he slowly meandered over towards one of the larger medical berths before he practically collapsed onto it. 

Knockout spun his chair around and glowered at the towering blue mech, having expected more of an answer from his assistant. “What took you so long?” he asked, narrowing his optics. 

“Autobots…. Got away ...” Breakdown wheezed, a small cough escaping his vocalizer.

Knockout suddenly gasped, his optics widening at the sight of the glowing neon blue trail that Breakdown had tracked into the medbay. He instantly got up from his chair, the metal rasp he was holding slipping out of his servos as his jaw dropped in shock. 

“The AUTOBOTS did this to you?!” He asked, narrowing his optics as he dashed over to his assistant and looked over Breakdown’s injuries. 

Breakdown lowered his optics and shook his helm. “I was too slow… Megatron had a word with me on my way here. Next time, Bulkhead isn’t going to be so lucky.” he replied, wincing as Knockout began looking over his injuries.

Knockout went eerily quiet, his wheels lowering ever so slightly behind him. “I see….” he commented in a hushed tone. “Is he…. On his way here too?” he asked. 

Breakdown glanced at the door, before he looked back at Knockout and shook his head. “I don’t think so…. And what’s Stormshift doing over there with her wing plating off? She’s not moving…” 

Knockout glanced over at the delicate young seeker who was still sitting on the medical exam table, sitting tall and as still as a statue. “Oh…Stormshift! I forgot you were here. You can move now. You do know sitting like that for extended periods of time isn’t good for your back struts, right?” the medic commented, before he refocused his attention onto Breakdown. “She had another run in with someone and got her wings scratched up. Probably the same guy as last time, considering the symmetry of the injuries on both of her wings. I was going to have you cut some new wing plating for her when you got back, but seeing as Megatron had other plans…. Well, I guess she’s just going to have to wait. Now tell me, how bad is it?”

“Mostly blunt force trauma. Lord Megatron rammed me into a wall when he heard of my failure to carry out my mission. I’ll be fine, so long as we can patch my leaky fuel lines.” Breakdown coughed out. 

Knockout nodded, concern crossing his faceplate. “Looks like he did more than just ram you into a wall. How much of this is from the Autobots? I’d like to know how much damage I’m gonna do to them next time I’m out there-...” he growled, glancing back at the tiny seeker on the nearby medical table. “Stormshift, make yourself useful, will you, and get me something to stop the bleeding here. Since Breakdown is indisposed at the moment, you’re going to have to play the role of assistant.” he barked. 

Instantly, the little seeker was on her feet and racing over to the nearest cabinet, grabbing an armful of medical mesh and bandages before she carried them over to Knockout and stood waiting at his side. 

“Move your servo.” Knockout snapped at Breakdown, shoving the mech’s large hand out of the way as he inspected the injury on his arm. Without wasting another moment, he got to work on pinching off the fuel lines in the deep gouges that ran across Breakdown’s arm. The marks were all too familiar. It was not hard for him to tell what Megatron had done to his partner and what was probably the work of the Autobots. 

“He didn’t just slam you into the wall, did he?” Knockout asked, yanking a bundle of bandages out of Stormshift’s arms and hastily wrapping them around the circumference of Breakdown’s upper arm. “I’m going to have to probably patch this… It’s too deep not to leave a mark. Your chassis is pretty banged up too…. That’s going to require a bit of reconstructive surgery. Those dents are not going to heal themselves. And just when I was hoping to have the day off.” 

Breakdown sighed, his head falling back as he stared at the ceiling. A pool of energon was beginning to collect beneath his frame that was in danger of spilling over the edges of the medical berth. Knockout glanced at the puddle and gasped in alarm, immediately ordering Breakdown to roll over onto his front so he could get a look at his back. It was then that he found the culprit for all of the bleeding. Breakdown had a large chunk torn out of his plating just left of his primary neural cable. Knockout could hardly tell what was Breakdown’s internal cabling and what was the twisted shrapnel surrounding the hole with how much energon was spurting from the wound. Closing his optics and his mouth, Knockout quickly stuck his servos into the wound and felt around for the fuel lines, pinching them off to stop the bleeding and then proceeding to dab medical mesh into the wound to soak up the energon. 

The red medic shook his helm. “Breakdown… there’s too much damage here for me to let it heal on its own. I’m… going to have to put you under for surgery. Now.” He solemnly stated. Breakdown nodded in understanding, closing his optics and letting out a small groan of pain. 

Knockout then turned towards the small seeker in the room, giving her a stern glare. “Stormshift, I’m… going to need your help with the surgery. You know where I keep most of my stuff. Can I trust you to not screw anything up?” 

Stormshift nervously nodded, still standing there looking like a deer in the headlights with her arms full of bandages. “Is-... is he gonna be okay?” She asked. 

“I DON’T KNOW! NOW GO GET ME A SYRINGE!” Knockout yelled, pointing at the cabinet in which the syringes were kept. 

Stormshift ran over to the cabinet, opening it up and freezing in her tracks. Her knees locked up and her entire frame trembled in terror at the sight of all the rows and rows of syringes neatly lined up and labeled before her. All of those needles in one place… her head was beginning to spin. Which one was she supposed to get? Knockout had not specified, and there were so many to choose from. She knew that if she brought him the wrong syringe, he would probably be mad at her, but there was no way for her to know which one was the right one.

Knockout continued to look over Breakdown’s injuries, growling and muttering under his breath. When he noticed how long Stormshift was taking to retrieve the requested item, he spun around and glowered at her. 

“What’s taking you so long? I ORDERED you to get me a SYRINGE, not stand there gawking at them! Come on, chop chop!” Knockout angrily barked. When Stormshift did not respond, he stomped over to the cabinet, reached over her head, and grabbed two syringes. One contained medical grade energon and the other contained an unknown orange serum. Without warning, Knockout jabbed the orange syringe between Stormshift’s shoulders, directly into her spinal cabling, emptying the contents into her small frame. 

“That’ll teach you to disobey a direct order!” He snapped, stomping back over to Breakdown as the delicate little mint green and black seeker dropped to her knees and then fell on the floor, her entire frame tensed in agony as the orange serum traveled through her neural net. Her optics widened and her pupils shrank to tiny specks of red light while she began to twitch and convulse on the floor like a dying cockroach.

“Knockout-...” Breakdown croaked, having witnessed the whole scene. 

“What?” Knockout snapped. 

Breakdown stared at the tiny seeker curled up on the floor, and Knockout rolled his optics. 

“She’ll be fine. It’ll wear off in a few hours. I gave her a neural stimulant. That oughta wake her up. Oh, and you’ll be fine too, I hope…. Just hold still and everything’s gonna be okay. This might sting a little.” Knockout said, patting Breakdown’s shoulder plating as he injected the contents of the other syringe into the primary fuel line in Breakdown’s uninjured arm. 

Breakdown closed his optics as the energon traveled through his fuel lines, before he opened them again as Knockout pulled the syringe out of his arm. 

“Hurts…” Breakdown groaned. 

Knockout sighed and patted the larger mech’s shoulder plating. “I know. Just hang in there. I’m going to fix it. Just… stay with me Breakdown.” he said as he pulled a large cable out of the side of the medical berth and hooked it up to a port in the back of Breakdown’s neck. Once that was done, he set up the screen on the side of the berth to monitor Breakdown’s vitals. He put Breakdown on an energon drip and then held the mech’s servo as he did the medical override of Breakdown’s systems to put him into stasis.


	4. Rebels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter was pretty intense. Here, have a short bit of fluff to make it better.

Breakdown groggily blinked, his systems slowly coming online. His optics flitted back and forth around the room as everything in his vision came into focus. He was laying on his back on the medical table, and his fuel lines felt like they were filled with lead.

“Knockout?” He weakly rasped.

“I’m here.” The cherry red medic replied, his digits intertwining with Breakdown’s as he gave the mech’s servo a gentle squeeze. “How are you feeling?” He asked, giving his partner a worried look.

“Tired.” Breakdown replied. 

Knockout smiled weakly. “Ah, that’ll be the sedatives. I didn’t want you running off before your systems had a chance to properly heal.” 

“How long was I out?” Breakdown asked. 

“Three orns.” Knockout stated, pulling his servo away from Breakdown’s and tapping a few buttons on the display on the medical berth. “I replaced your fuel lines, and your plating. Once you’re out of here, no one’s gonna’ know that ol’ Megs tore a chunk outta your back, or that he banged up your front bumper.”

“As long as I don’t fail him again…” Breakdown groggily added to Knockout’s statement. 

“... Indeed. Well… you just be careful next time, okay? If you like, when you’re better, we can discuss options on giving you a speed upgrade.” Knockout said. 

“You look tired…” Breakdown rasped.

“Yeah, well… it’s not like I didn’t recharge for three whole orns just to get you looking as good as the day we met.” Knockout teased. “Even gave you a fresh coat of paint to match the repairs. You’re welcome. Now go back to sleep, doctor’s orders.”

“Is… Stormshift…?” Breakdown started. 

“Yeah, she lived. Unfortunately. She’s currently mopping up the mess you tracked in here.” Knockout stated, climbing up onto the medical berth next to Breakdown. 

Breakdown nodded, giving Knockout a slightly confused look as the medic clambered over his midsection. “What are you…”

“Move over, you glitch. I’m tired.” Knockout impatiently stated as he nestled into the spot between Breakdown’s uninjured arm and his side. 

“Oh…” Breakdown replied, before a small smile crossed his faceplate and he adjusted his arm so that Knockout would be more comfortable. Knockout let out a small hum of approval and sprawled himself across Breakdown’s side, his arm flopping over the larger bot’s chassis and his leg wrapping somewhat around Breakdown’s waist in a half full body hug. 

Breakdown cradled Knockout’s frame with one arm while he stretched his other arm around and gently rubbed Knockout’s shoulder wheels. 

“Mmmmmm-...” Knockout hummed, a low purr of pleasure rumbling in his engine. “That’s the spot.” 

Breakdown’s smile widened, and he closed his optics. 

Knockout continued his purrs of contentment, slowly drifting off into recharge against Breakdown’s frame.


	5. Superiors

“Kn-knockout-?” Stormshift asked, standing nervously next to the sleeping medic and his partner. 

The medic remained silent. It was hard for the little seeker to tell if he was awake or if he was asleep. She cautiously called his name again, this time a little bit louder. “Knockout?” 

“Go away.” Knockout groggily grumbled in reply, nuzzling his helm against Breakdown’s chassis. 

Stormshift lowered her wings, uncertain of whether or not she should even bother trying to wake him. “I-.... I got the medbay cleaned up. I thought you’d want to know. S-Soundwave c-came by earlier…”

“Great. Tell him to go away too.” Knockout growled, his optics still closed. Breakdown mumbled something in his sleep next to the cherry red medic, while Stormshift remained standing where she was. 

“He… uhm… he’s right over there.” Stormshift nervously squeaked, pointing to the doorway where the Decepticon head of intelligence was ominously looming over the rest of the room. 

Instantly, Knockout sat bolt upright and glanced around the medbay, rubbing the sleep from his optics as he climbed down from the medical berth and tiredly stood at attention. 

“Ah… Soundwave. What brings you here this… early?” Knockout asked. 

Soundwave remained eerily still for a moment, before he began playing a recording of Knockout’s voice. “Great. Tell him to go away too.” It came out as clear as the moment Knockout had said it. 

Knockout froze and swallowed hard, taking a nervous step back. “Please don’t tell Megatron I said that-! I don’t mean to send you away. I was tired-... Come in, please, help yourself to the medbay. Do whatever you want- I don’t care, so long as you put in a good word with the big boss.” 

Soundwave took a few slow and steady strides forward, towering over Knockout as he approached him. 

“Stormshift, get behind me…” Knockout nervously commanded, grabbing the little seeker by the scruff and yanking her back and away from Soundwave. 

Soundwave’s gaze shifted to the tiny mint green and black seeker. He seemed to regard her for a moment with curiosity before his gaze travelled back to Knockout. 

“What do you want, Soundwave? You want her? Here- you can have her-! I could even wrap her up and put a nice little bow on her if you want-!” Knockout hastily said, grabbing Stormshift by the arm and yanking her in front of himself, holding her up in front of his face like a miniature cybertronian shield. 

Stormshift stared nervously up at Soundwave, unsure of what to make of the mech. 

Soundwave shook his helm and pointed one of his long thin digits at the ground, and Knockout promptly sat Stormshift back down in front of him on her feet. 

“Okay then… if it isn’t Stormshift, then what do you want? Stormshift, run along. You’re not needed here.” Knockout said, making a shoo-ing motion with his servos. 

Stormshift promptly turned and scampered off, ducking behind one of the medical tables and poking her head over the top of it to watch what was happening between Soundwave and Knockout. 

Soundwave glanced past Knockout and looked at Breakdown, the mech’s resting frame reflecting on his screen. Knockout continued to stare up at Soundwave, still uncertain as to what he wanted. 

Stormshift’s wings twitched slightly behind her in anticipation. Noticing the movement, Soundwave’s helm swiveled in her direction. Stormshift froze, her frame trembling as she felt Soundwave’s gaze on her, and her wings lowered behind her back. Soundwave stared down back at Knockout and then raised an arm, pointing almost scoldingly in Stormshift’s direction. 

“Oh, so you do want her now? What is it, mech? Make up your mind-” Knockout snapped, squaring off his shoulders as his plating bristled in an attempt to make himself look bigger. 

Soundwave ignored Knockout’s words. Instead, he turned his servo over and curled his index digit inwards, beaconing Stormshift to come closer. Stormshift ducked down all the way behind the medical table and let out a nervous squeak of surprise, curling up in a ball on the floor and trembling in terror. Soundwave remained patiently where he stood, glancing expectantly at Knockout and then pointing to where the delicate little seeker was hiding. 

“Stormshift, get your aft over here, RIGHT NOW!” Knockout barked, stepping back and away from Soundwave. 

Stormshift slowly peeked her head back up over the table. Soundwave met her gaze, once again gesturing for her to come closer. 

Cautiously, Stormshift stood up and shakily meandered over towards the towering head of intelligence, stopping and standing at attention right next to Knockout. “Y-yes, sir?” she asked, apprehension leaking into her EM field as she tried to pull it in as tightly as she could. There was nothing she could pick up from Soundwave’s field, only a cold and steady calm that radiated from around his frame. 

Soundwave gestured for Stormshift to turn around, and the little seeker promptly obliged. The towering black and purple mech stared at the backs of her wings for a good long moment before he turned back towards Knockout, his field radiating disgust and disapproval as he gestured towards the state of Stormshift’s wings, which were still missing the plating on the backs of them with the wires exposed along with the delicate internal mechanisms. 

Knockout looked at Stormshift’s wings, and then he looked back up at Soundwave, his face flushing a darker shade of grey. “Oh… that. You er…. You knew about that? Well, uhm… see… I was just about to fix that. I was just catching up on my recharge hours. You know how this mech needs his beauty sleep-” he said with a nervous chuckle. 

Soundwave was not amused. He once again pointed at Stormshift’s wings. 

“Kn-Knockout? What’s going on-...” Stormshift nervously squeaked out. 

“Get onto the exam table, now!” Knockout ordered. “I’ll explain later. Just sit still.” he added, rushing over to a nearby cabinet and pulling out a few spare neural cables and fuel lines along with some surgical tools. Stormshift promptly did as she was told, climbing up onto the medical table and awaiting further orders. 

Without warning, Knockout tore the existing damaged fuel lines out of her left wing and Stormshift let out a pained shriek of surprise and agony. He then inserted the replacement fuel lines and soldered them in place, making sure that there was good energon flow to her wings. 

Soundwave remained standing where he was, looking very unimpressed as Knockout continued the hasty procedure. After Knockout had replaced the neural cables and fuel lines in Stormshift’s left wing, Soundwave walked over to the syringe cabinet and opened it up, pulling out a syringe that was filled with a clear fluid before he walked over to Knockout and held it out to him. 

Stormshift whimpered nervously at the sight of the syringe, shrinking back and away from Knockout, cleansing fluid tears running down her face as she put her arms over her head in a defensive position. 

Knockout glowered at Soundwave, narrowing his optics. “What do you want me to do with that? She’s terrified of needles-!” he protested, but Soundwave insisted, pressing the syringe sideways into Knockout’s palm. 

“... I’m the doctor, but alright. I don’t think this will really make any difference. I’d rather not be giving such a small bot an anesthetic.” Knockout huffed, relenting as he took the syringe from Soundwave’s servo before he harshly jabbed the syringe into the shoulder joint above Stormshift’s right wing, plunging its contents into the primary fuel line that ran into the half repaired area. 

Stormshift’s frame locked up and she froze in pain, before she could feel her wing going numb. The sensation started in her shoulder and began to travel throughout her frame. The little seeker swayed slightly, before her entire frame began to relax as the glorious numbing sensation rushed through her body. 

“See? This is why I typically don’t give painkillers of that strength to bots of her size-!” Knockout huffed, grabbing Stormshift by the shoulders before she could fall off of the medical table and flipping her onto her stomach, positioning her right wing so that it was easier to work on it. 

Soundwave shook his helm as he continued to watch Knockout finish the procedure. When Knockout was done replacing the fuel lines and neural cables in Stormshift’s wings, Soundwave loomed over him expectantly as he pointed towards the newly repaired yet still exposed wires. 

“Oh… yes… the plating. How could I have forgotten?” Knockout grumbled. “You see…. Stormshift messed up her previous set of wing plating, and since Breakdown was indisposed at the time of her injury, I do not yet have plating cut in the correct size to fix that.”   
Soundwave pointed over towards the metalworking section of the medbay and waited. Knockout let out a reluctant sigh and sidled over towards where Soundwave was pointing, picking up a large, thin sheet of plating specifically designed for seeker wings. He then measured out the amount of plating he would need for Stormshift’s wings, marking the specifications with a laser engraving tool. After that, he slipped the sheet of metal into a slot in a large machine. Knockout turned the machine on and pressed a few buttons. With a click and a whirr, a laser a bit larger than the one he had used to mark the plating descended from a robotic arm attached to the inside of the machine and precisely cut out along the pattern that Knockout had marked. 

After a few seconds, the machine beeped and ejected the sheet of metal halfway and Knockout pulled out the pieces that were meant to replace the old plating on Stormshift’s wings. The medic then brought the plating over to a nearby workbench and got out a small rotary sanding tool and began to grind at the edges of the wing plating in order to shape it to be more aerodynamic. Once he was done sanding them into shape, he brought the freshly cut wing plating over to Stormshift and welded it in place. 

The small seeker remained still and silent throughout the procedure, her optics half closed and a look of relief and contentment on her faceplate. 

“There. You happy?” Knockout grumbled at Soundwave, brushing his servos against each other as he stepped back to admire his work. 

Soundwave looked down at Stormshift, scrutinizing Knockout’s work. While the little seeker was fully repaired, it was obvious that the plating on her wings was freshly replaced as its silvery sheen did not line up with the rest of her color scheme. 

“You’re not going to have me PAINT her too, are you? After all the trouble I went through?!” Knockout snapped, impatiently tapping his foot. 

Soundwave nodded. 

Knockout let out a long sigh of exasperation and stomped over to the shelf where he kept all of his painting supplies. He brought over a large canister of black paint and loaded it into an airbrush before he walked back over and set the airbrush’s tank on the medical berth next to Stormshift. 

“Hold still or I’ll mess this up.” Knockout huffed, precisely placing adhesive strips onto the edges of Stormshift’s wings to mask off the areas that were not going to be black when he was done. 

Under Soundwave’s supervision, Knockout painted Stormshift’s wings with the black paint, being careful to keep it away from his frame and not splatter a single drop on his finish. Stormshift was as still as a statue as Knockout painted her wings.


	6. Prisoners

“Get up, Stormshift. I’m done. Come back to me when the paint’s dry. Or not. I don’t care either way.” Knockout huffed. 

Stormshift obediently sat up and climbed down from the medical berth. 

Soundwave remained towering over the two of them, Breakdown still sleeping on the medical berth on the other side of the room. 

“I don’t care either way.” Knockout’s voice suddenly stated, although it was not him who was speaking. Soundwave stared down at the medic, before he turned and headed towards the door. 

Knockout froze in his tracks, his entire frame tensing slightly at hearing his own words played back at him. “Surely you… can’t have come here just to make sure that I fixed Stormshift up, right?” The medic asked. 

Soundwave glanced back at Knockout and stood there for a moment. “And see to it that Breakdown has made it safely to the medbay. I would hate for there to be an accidental loss of one of my most… valued soldiers.” Megatron’s voice purred through Soundwave’s speakers. 

Knockout immediately glanced about the medbay, trying to see if Megatron had been hiding there all along, when he realized it was just Soundwave playing back a recording of Megatron’s voice. So it had been because of Megatron all along that the silent warrior had arrived in the medbay. Megatron was pulling the strings, and he had sent Soundwave to remind them of it all. Even Soundwave was just another pawn in the warlord’s game, sent there to prove a point if nothing more. Soundwave was Megatron’s eyes and ears. Anything he saw or heard was at risk of being directly reported to Megatron. There were few secrets on the Nemesis that the Decepticon head of intelligence did not know, and at any moment, he could use those secrets to betray any one of his fellow decepticons with the evidence collected against them. 

A chill ran down Knockout’s spinal plating. Soundwave saw. Soundwave knew he had been cuddling with Breakdown that night. He knew that he had gone an extended period of time without fixing Stormshift’s wings. It was possible he knew more than that from the past couple days, how Knockout had wasted a valuable vial of neural stimulants by injecting them into Stormshift’s spinal cabling on purpose and without remorse. Soundwave had more than enough information to get Knockout in serious trouble with the leader of the decepticons, and there was nothing he could do about it. 

Soundwave turned and began to exit the room, his tall shadow falling over the doorway, his slim silhouette stretching across the floor in the form of his shadow. 

“Stormshift.” The head of intelligence said, or more, he played back the tiny seeker’s name in Knockout’s voice. 

Stormshift froze, looking back and forth between Knockout and Soundwave, uncertain of what the mech meant by playing back a recording of Knockout saying her name. 

“M-me-?” She asked, before Knockout shot her a warning glare. 

Soundwave looked over his shoulder and nodded, making a small gesture with his arm as he stepped into the hallway. 

Stormshift looked at Knockout, hesitating as she looked back towards the door of the medbay. Knockout folded his arms over his chassis, dismissively nodding in her direction. 

“Well? Go on. I’d hate to see what could happen to you if you kept the Decepticon head of intelligence waiting.” Knockout scolded, narrowing his optics. 

“H-he… does he w-want me to f-follow?” She asked, her wings lowering behind her. 

“Well, what does it look like?” Knockout snapped. “He wouldn’t be standing there like that if he didn’t expect you to do something. Go see what he wants now.” 

“Oh…” Stormshift replied, still standing in place. 

Knockout stared at her with a scrutinizing gaze, venom in his tones as he said, “What are you waiting for, Stormshift? Are you hoping we all die of boredom?”

“N-no sir-!” Stormshift replied, wrapping her arms around her frame and hugging herself tightly. She stared at the doorway, Soundwave still waiting patiently in the shadow of the hallway. 

“I’m sure he doesn’t have all day.” Knockout chided.

“Kn-knockout?” Stormshift asked in hardly a squeak. 

“What?!” Knockout snapped, impatiently glowering at the little seeker.

“I’m… I-I’m….. I’m afraid.” Stormshift replied, staring up at Soundwave. 

“You should be much more afraid of what might happen to you if you keep him waiting. I’d hate to see what might happen to those newly repaired wings of yours if you keep this up.” Knockout acerbically stated. 

Stormshift nodded, cautiously walking up to Soundwave, her wings flicking behind her in uncertainty. 

Soundwave glanced down at the tiny little seeker, before he began walking down the hallway at a slow and steady pace, stopping in his tracks to see if she was following him. The mint green and black seeker scampered along beside him, her EM field leaking out waves of confusion and mortal terror. 

“Where are you taking me?” She asked, optics wide as she stared up at Soundwave’s blank screen face. 

Soundwave remained silent, his helm tilting upwards slightly in the direction of the hallway that lead to the main command center. 

Stormshift paused in her tracks. “Am...am I in trouble?”

Soundwave gave her no sign of an answer, instead walking on towards the command center, stopping when he noticed that she was no longer following.   
“Is-... Is Kn-Knockout in trouble? Are… are you gonna take me away from him?” She asked, her sparkrate quickening inside her chassis. “It-..it isn’t his f-fault, you know. B-Breakdown c-came in l-late and p-pretty banged up. H-he had to f-fix him first before he got to me. Th-that’s just how it is- B-Breakdown’s injuries were m-much worse than mine, so…. I m-mattered less. Kn-Knockout d-didn’t mean to let me go unfixed for so long. H-he was so t-tired-! It t-took him th-three orns t-to fix B-Breakdown. I’m s-sure he has a p-proper explanation-...” she continued, her voice trailing off when she realized that Soundwave was waiting for her to start walking again. 

She quickly dashed towards him, matching his pace when he began walking again. 

“S-sorry-! I-.... I f-froze up. I’m… I’m sc-scared… Kn-Knockout says to n-never r-reveal weakness, but… I’m so weak it’s all I can reveal about myself. She stated, adding a nervous chuckle at the end of the sentence. 

Soundwave glanced down at her and paused for a moment, his EM field remaining that steady, pulsating calm she had felt coming off of him earlier. He then turned his helm to face forward again, quickening his pace as they reached the command center. 

Once in the command center, Soundwave stopped at one of the consoles and began typing. He turned back to Stormshift and pointed at a spot beside him. Stormshift swiftly moved over to the spot he had directed her to and stared up at him, awaiting his next orders.


End file.
